The federal government’s Budget 2024: Fairness for Every Generation supports an employee’s right to disconnect.
Parliament has proposed a budget of $3.6 million over five years (starting in 2024) to further amend the Canada Labour Code. These amendments are focused on Millennial and Gen-Z workers who have spent most of their working lives being remotely accessible to their employers, whether it is a work-provided cellphone or laptop.
With the aim of increasing work-life balance, Parliament is proposing to amend the Canada Labour Code to include a right to disconnect. If implemented, federally regulated employers must allow their workers to “disconnect” from the workplace after their scheduled hours of work.
Ontario has a similar requirement in its Employment Standards Act. The Ontario legislation defines disconnecting from work as not engaging in any work-related communications outside of work hours. This includes emails, text messages, telephone or video calls.
This blog post will be updated once further information is provided on the proposed amendments.
Importance for employers
It is critical for federally regulated employers to keep their organization’s policies up-to-date to ensure legal compliance.
Parliament has implemented several amendments to the Canada Labour Code in the past year. These amendments include increasing an employee’s entitlements on termination, increasing the lengths of various unpaid and paid leaves, as well as hours of work exemptions (other blogs on amendments to the Canada Labour Code can be found here or here).
If you are unsure whether this could impact your organization, or you require assistance updating your organization’s current policies to comply with the Canada Labour Code, the MLT Aikins labour & employment team has extensive experience advising on implementing practical workplace policies. To learn more about how this amendment or other amendments could impact you and your organization, contact a member of our team today.
Note: This article is of a general nature only and is not exhaustive of all possible legal rights or remedies. In addition, laws may change over time and should be interpreted only in the context of particular circumstances such that these materials are not intended to be relied upon or taken as legal advice or opinion. Readers should consult a legal professional for specific advice in any particular situation.